The invention generally relates to spreader bars for spreading apart the cords utilized in hammocks and thereby laterally spread out the body supporting member of the hammock in order to provide fuller support to the user. The invention relates more particularly to such a spreader bar for a hammock which provides increased safety and which facilitates assembly of a hammock by an assembly plant [during the manufacturing process] or by an end user to replace a prior art spreader bar on a hammock or to install on a hammock which lacks a spreader bar.
Hammocks are an inexpensive apparatus for supporting an individual in a reclining position. They are especially useful because they may be suspended from trees, poles and many other types of structures, and this feature makes them advantageously adaptable for use in many different types of outdoor environments. Hammocks may thus be used in locales where tents and other types of rest providing equipment may not pragmatically be used due to rocky terrain, excessive vegetation, wet ground surfaces, etc. Consequently, hammocks have been widely used in conjunction with camping and other types of outdoor recreational activities. For such outdoor use hammocks also have the added advantage that since they are typically suspended above the ground which may often be hard, rocky, uneven, wet, cold, dirty or infested with insects they nevertheless provide comfort to the user despite such ground surface characteristics of the surrounding area.
Some of the oldest designs for hammocks utilize spreader bars to separate the suspension cords and thereby laterally extend the body supporting member of the hammock to provide fuller and generally flatter support and thereby a more comfortable surface for the user to lie on. However, such spreader bars have typically been straight which has the disadvantage that the stresses placed thereon by the suspension cords are unevenly distributed on the bars, and this may result in breakage of the bar or produce an unstable hammock which is more likely to excessively rotate while in use and dump the user. Conventional spreader bars for hammocks typically are provided with apertures for the suspension cords to pass through and are of unitary construction which requires that the hammock be assembled by feeding the cords through the apertures and subsequently securing the cords to the other components of the hammock. This requirement makes the assembly of such hammocks more labor intensive which increases manufacturing costs thereof.
Many types of hammock spreader bar designs position the spreader bars at the longitudinal ends of the body supporting member to maintain the supporting member in a spread position. An example of such a design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,601 to DeCaro. DeCaro utilizes a straight bar which has angled retaining members forming one C-shaped slot at one end thereof which holds the ends of the supporting member in a spread condition and another C-shaped slot at the other end thereof which holds the ends of the supporting cords therein. Although the DeCaro spreader bar was designed to make the hammock more inexpensive to manufacture than hammocks with comparable features, it nevertheless requires considerable labor to attach the suspension cords to the spreader bar. Consequently, assembly of hammock components to the spreader bars adds significantly to the costs of manufacture of the hammock.
Many other types of hammocks utilize relatively simple spreader bar designs to provide the desired function of laterally spreading out the body supporting member. Examples of such hammock spreader bars are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,550 to Willingham and 4,686,720 to Newell. The Willingham hammock utilizes a spreader bar which is straight and provided with apertures through which the suspension cords pass. The Willingham spreader bar is secured to the body supporting member directly at the ends thereof while the Newell spreader bar is secured to suspension cords which are secured to the body supporting member at the ends thereof. However, such designs have the disadvantage that the forces exerted on the spreader bar are concentrated at the end portions thereof. This may result in undue stresses at these portions which may result in failure of the components or flipping over of the hammock under use because the forces are not evenly distributed laterally.
Some types of hammocks include spreader bars which are designed to provide a taut hammock sheet. An example of such a spreader bar design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,868 to Fueslein. In the Fueslein design, the spreader members are positioned underneath the hammock sheet at medial portions and near end portions thereof. The spreader members are vertically curved in order to prevent contact with the user. However, since the suspension cords are located only at the peripheral lateral edges of the sheet, the forces of suspension are concentrated at these edges instead of being evenly distributed at other edges of the sheet. Thus, these peripheral edges are required to withstand the stresses produced by the user's weight. Consequently, such designs have the disadvantage that they may not be able to withstand prolonged use.
A spreader bar for a hammock is thus needed which renders the hammock safer to use and more inexpensive to manufacture. A spreader bar for a hammock is also needed which provides these features while being simple in construction and thus inexpensive to manufacture. An improved spreader bar for a hammock is also needed which allows an end user to quickly and easily replace a conventional spreader bar on a finished hammock with the improved spreader bar and to quickly and easily install the improved spreader bar on a finished hammock which is not provided with a spreader bar.